Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem

The Palestinian Christmas Show

by Bassam Tawil November 12, 2019 at 5:00 am

"The Palestinian Authority has been offering us money to remain silent. They are trying to bribe us so we would remain silent about the crimes of the police." — Marian al-Hajal, video on Facebook, October 2019."We want a civil and humane state based on the rule of law and justice." — Palestinian Professor Jamal Harfoush, who currently lives in Latin America.As far as Marian is concerned, the PA police version is nothing but an attempt to cover up for their criminal behavior. She and many Christians want the world to know, particularly on the eve of Christmas, that Christians have become easy prey under the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.As far as PA President Mahmoud Abbas is concerned, it is business as usual. The cries of the Christian family in Bet Jala seem entirely lost on him.... Abbas may be worried about the future of the hefty funding he gets from Christian countries and organizations, if they find out what his police did.... What he seeks is to continue ensuring the success of the Palestinian lie that Christians are fleeing because of Israel. Will the international community and press continue to swallow -- as they have done year after year -- the diet of lies that the PA leaders and spokesmen feed them?

Following the death of her 63-year-old mother during a raid "for unpaid debts" by the Palestinian Authority (PA) police, Marian al-Hajal and many Christians want the world to know that Christians have become easy prey under the PA in the West Bank and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Pictured: PA policemen stand in Manger Square, Bethlehem, in front of the Church of the Nativity. (Image source: iStock)

In a few weeks' time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) will perform its annual Christmas deception show. As is its custom, the PA will invite foreign journalists and diplomats to Bethlehem, where its spin doctors will wax poetic about good relations and harmony between Christians and Muslims in the city on the eve of Christmas. PA officials often seize this opportunity to blame Israel for the "plight" of Palestinian Christians, who make up only one percent of the Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

There is one incident, however, that the PA officials will do their utmost to keep under wraps. It is the story of 63-year-old Terez Ta'amneh, a Christian woman from the town of Bet Jala, near Bethlehem, who died when PA police officers raided her home to arrest her son, Yusef, for unpaid debts.